Passwords are a giant pain in the behind (pardon my language). First and foremost, passwords need need to be secure, and in order for them to be secure they have to be a long string of letters (random mix of uppercase and lowercase), numbers and symbols (for good measure). When you create a strong password they’re nearly impossible to remember, the theory being that if you can’t remember it how will anyone trying to hack your account crack the barrage of characters you created.

So, when you create these 15+ character passwords, how are you to keep track of them? There are certainly a number of options available (I know some opt for a good old-fashioned spreadsheet), but if you want a secure, user friendly experience 1Password has been to the go-to choice for quite some time. In December 2012, AgileBit released version 4 of 1Password, which includes an impressive list of new features. Hit the jump to take a peek at what the new 1Password has to offer. (more…)

Lately you may have noticed the consistent stream of headlines that pertain to user security and data safety. People are getting worried about how secure their mobile devices, and information, actually is. With this thirst for security comes a service and app combo that wants to help secure your personal data.

The service and app is called SecureSafe, a multi-part service that employs encryption on many different devices and on many different mediums. From photos to docs to passwords, SecureSafe can secure them all. Let dive right in!

The internet has been abuzz recently with the news of hackedservers, stolen passwords and security scares. We’re constantly reminded that our ‘stuff’ on the internet isn’t as secure, or as safe, as perhaps we’d like it to be and that the best way to keep it secure is to have a super strong password.

The trouble with super strong passwords is that they’re hard to remember. Which means you have to write them down somewhere. Which kind of defeats the point.

Oh, and your super strong password should be unique to each site and you should change it regularly.

1Password Pro from AgileBits is here to try to solve all of your password-related problems. Available for Mac, iPhone, iPad and now Windows as well, this is one application that no computer user should be without. The idea behind it is to keep all of your super strong passwords kept safely behind one master password (hence the name). But does this really make you safer online?

We’re going to take a look at the iPad version of 1Password to see how easy it is to use, if it really can make password management easier and if it’s worth your money.

Although iCloud is launching in just a few months, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the service. How will it improve my workflow? Will it be better than MobileMe? Does it really replace current backup and sync services?

I can definitely sympathize with these concerns. MobileMe wasn’t exactly a smashing success, particularly since it cost about $100 per year too much. I use a free Dropbox account to sync both documents and data to and from my iPad. Since Dropbox is supported by many excellent apps, it can effectively serve as a cloud-based file system for your iPad—for free.

However, it looks like Apple has tried its best to address MobileMe’s faults with iCloud. A free account comes with 5 GB (about twice as much as Dropbox starts with), and boasts complete integration with Lion and iOS 5, elegant web apps for managing emails and calendars, and painless document and data syncing.

Given these improvements, can iCloud really change the way we use our iPads? Or is it just a flashy, not as full-featured alternative to Dropbox?

It’s no secret that iOS has a very high quality of design. There are countless stunning apps which make the most of the iPad’s 9.7” screen. But how often do you stop and consider who makes these interfaces?

It doesn’t just happen by accident -there are designers who spend countless hours perfecting every tiny element of an app to make it effortless for the user to interact with.

Today, we’ll be talking to Dan V Peterson, the Michigan-based designer who has created the interface for the excellent (and beautiful) 1Password. We’ll be finding out his methods, inspiration, favourite iPad apps, and much, much more.